Congrats to the White Sox

[moochpuppy]

90% of this thread could win "dumbest comment of the year". Thanks for the chuckle. :lol:

[imb]

b&

[Tad]

As an out of towner, out of stater, out of regioner (is that even a word?) Cubs fan. I'm struggling to understand the rivalry between the Sox and Cubs. It seems to me, that since they are in a different league, that most Cubs fans would just be indifferent to Sox fans.

 

I mean, as an Ole Miss Rebel, our rivals are Mississippi State and LSU....because we actually PLAY them when it matters alot of the time. When I think of Cubs' rivals I think of Cards and Astros.

 

Can someone civilly explain to me the anonymosity alot of you native Chicagoans have for Sox fans?

 

Are they trashy or what is it about them that inspires such hatred towards a team that we rarely play.

 

The typical Cubs fan stereotype of Sox fans is that of a white trash thug who is obsessed with the Cubs and has an arrest record a mile long. The typical Sox fan stereotype of Cubs fans is that of a yuppie who goes to Wrigley to party and couldn't name more than 3 players on the team.

 

I think that the Sox fanbase is like any other fanbase. There are good fans. There are trashy fans. There are nice guys and there are absolute jerks.

 

In my own experience, I've found that there are two distinct types of Sox fans. One is the actual Sox fan, a life-long fan who likes all things Sox. They might rip on the Cubs, but its in a local rival way, as opposed to any sort of "Cubs obsession". They are still concerned more with the White Sox.

 

The other type of fan is the Cubs Hater. It seems to me that many of these peope either come from families with lots of Cubs fans or were Cubs fans but at one point switch teams. For example, my friend was a Cubs fan for years, and his family are Cubs fans. However, at some point, he dumped the Cubs for the Sox (I don't remember when, but it was before this year) and now he rips on the Cubs more than any lifelong Sox fan I know. These are the people who are more interested in the Cubs losing than the Sox winning.

 

As for the "Cubs Suck" t-shirts and that stuff, who cares? None of that stuff is licensed by the team or sold inside the ballpark. There are "Sox Suck" t-shirts, too. From what I've heard, the same people selling the "Cubs Suck" t-shirts are selling the "Sox Suck" t-shirts. I've seen people at US Cellular with Cubs jerseys and hats on, or "Sox Suck" shirts, loudly rooting for whoever was playing the Sox, so I find it kind of amusing when people claim that its Sox fans who do everything to agitate Cubs fans and ignore the fact that there are Cubs fans doing stuff right back. I've also noticed that its alot of younger Cubs fans doing these things, so maybe there's a new breed of fan on the way up, one who buys more into the Cubs-Sox rivalry than older fans.

[gus_dog]

I'll be honest. Screw them, I hope they lose. Go Houston....

 

agreed

 

I like this responce.

[J.R.]

I'll be honest. Screw them, I hope they lose. Go Houston....

 

agreed

 

I like this responce.

 

Me too.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I'm not talking about pitching and defense. It most certainly isn't the way the Cubs won in '03, and not the way any of the teams you mentioned did it either.

 

So your statement is that the 03' Cubs, mid-90s Yanks, 03' Fish, and 04' Red Sox succesful playoff runs did not rely on or have anything to do with very good pitching and nearly error-free defense. I am sorry, but if that is your point, than I completely disagree.

 

No, I'm not saying that they didn't do any of those things. I specifically mentioned before that quote that I was talking about Guillen's out-wasting antics on offense. Smartball is stupid, and I hate that it's receiving praise for relying on an unreal pitching staff to have success.

 

I wish the Cubs had some 'smartball' in 2006 and so do you. Listen to many of the yahoos who don't want to trade Wood, CPat or anybody else. They want Dusty, Rothschild and Hendry back no matter what. For what? Another year of frustration.

 

None of those things(sans Dusty, who I want fired) have anything to do with "Smartball". I certainly do not wish that the Cubs lose outs and possibly games because an overbearing manager thinks that he has to make things happen by bunting and stealing bases at a manic and wasteful pace.

[Flames24Rulz]

i could care less about the Sox fans. I can name several other ways to hate a team/organization, but the fans are not one of them, at least in my opinion. I too have to put up with Sox fans but I'm not going to stoop down to their level and diss a team we play only 6 times a year. I have a lot of Sox fan friends and I am glad that they have something to cheer about. They are knowledgeable and they can actually engage in a baseball conversation without saying, "Cubs suck," ect.

 

Congratulations White Sox. I'll definitely be pulling for them over the Cards/Crapstros come Saturday night.

[swordsman]

Does anyone else take even the lest bit of solice that for the season we beat the Cards and the Astros and only split with the Sox. They may have won by beating up on the rest of the league, but none of those teams, not one, beat the Cubs for the season.

 

Yeah, kinda cheap, but....*sigh*.

[bc2k]

I will never root for this classless organization. The White Sox are a good team, but I cannot bring myself to congratulate them. Anyone else think Ozzie's management of the pitching staff will come back to bite them?

 

I don't foresee any Sox pitchers getting hurt over the next 4-7 games, so my answer is no. Usually if a manager has ridden his starters too hard during a season, those men will break down in the following season. This is what happened to the Cubs in 2004 (after a pennant run), and the Sox in 2001 (after their short playoff run).

 

Of the five Sox startes that I can see getting hurt next year, I'd guess Freddy Garcia and of course, El Duque. Fortunately for the Sox, if one starter does miss an extended amount of time, Brandon McCarthy is a decent replacement.

 

That said, I'd rather trade positions with them. I tip my cap to them and have already congratulated my Sox fan friends. I respect their style of play.

[danonwaveland]

I'm pulling for the Astros -- Clemens brings his hometown team a WS ring and then RETIRES! Plus, I get to read a winter's worth of whining and moaning from the "morans" at the stltoday.com forum.

 

As for the Sox, I recognize and appreciate what they've accomplished as a team and I like 'em (Guillen and Pierzynski excepted). I know several baseball-savvy Sox fans for whom I am genuinely happy. It's the other type of Sox fan -- the kind who gets more joy out of a Cubs loss than a White Sox win -- that is annoying.

 

I can't wait for spring training and the first broadcasts of spring games.

[UMFan83]

I will never root for this classless organization. The White Sox are a good team, but I cannot bring myself to congratulate them. Anyone else think Ozzie's management of the pitching staff will come back to bite them?

 

I don't foresee any Sox pitchers getting hurt over the next 4-7 games, so my answer is no. Usually if a manager has ridden his starters too hard during a season, those men will break down in the following season. This is what happened to the Cubs in 2004 (after a pennant run), and the Sox in 2001 (after their short playoff run).

 

Of the five Sox startes that I can see getting hurt next year, I'd guess Freddy Garcia and of course, El Duque. Fortunately for the Sox, if one starter does miss an extended amount of time, Brandon McCarthy is a decent replacement.

 

That said, I'd rather trade positions with them. I tip my cap to them and have already congratulated my Sox fan friends. I respect their style of play.

 

Didn't Buerhle and Garcia log the most innings in the AL this year?

[Andy]

Does anyone else take even the lest bit of solice that for the season we beat the Cards and the Astros and only split with the Sox. They may have won by beating up on the rest of the league, but none of those teams, not one, beat the Cubs for the season.

 

Yeah, kinda cheap, but....*sigh*.

All this proves is that we should have been in the playoffs and not watching them at home. Yeah, it's something to playfully diss the fans of these teams about but it is not something to make us feel better.

[bc2k]

I will never root for this classless organization. The White Sox are a good team, but I cannot bring myself to congratulate them. Anyone else think Ozzie's management of the pitching staff will come back to bite them?

 

I don't foresee any Sox pitchers getting hurt over the next 4-7 games, so my answer is no. Usually if a manager has ridden his starters too hard during a season, those men will break down in the following season. This is what happened to the Cubs in 2004 (after a pennant run), and the Sox in 2001 (after their short playoff run).

 

Of the five Sox startes that I can see getting hurt next year, I'd guess Freddy Garcia and of course, El Duque. Fortunately for the Sox, if one starter does miss an extended amount of time, Brandon McCarthy is a decent replacement.

 

That said, I'd rather trade positions with them. I tip my cap to them and have already congratulated my Sox fan friends. I respect their style of play.

 

Didn't Buerhle and Garcia log the most innings in the AL this year?

 

Yeah, Buehrle's pitched a lot of innings, but he does that every year. He pitched like 245 innings last season. He's never been on the DL or even missed a start. So with his track record, I can't imagine the IP affecting him.

 

Even though El Duque didn't throw a lot of innings this year, I think he's the most likely to be injured at some point next year. (Not that it's a stretch to say that, he's been on the DL twice this season and is older.)

 

Next to El Duque, I though Garcia was the most likely to be injured sometime in 2006.

 

That said, I'd gladly trade a season mired in injury if it meant winning our first pennant since 1945. Heck, our pitchers get injured anyway and we don't even get a division title out of it! :oops:

[XZero771679666304]

Since it seems to be what Sox fans care the most about, I can take solace in the fact that regardless of what the Sox do, Chicago will still belong to the Cubs as far as baseball is concerned. They can win it all, but by March the media focus will be back on the Cubs.

[CubbieRich]

I wish the Cubs had some 'smartball' in 2006 and so do you. Listen to many of the yahoos who don't want to trade Wood, CPat or anybody else.

 

I don't want them to trade Wood. I guess that makes me a yahoo huh?

 

And Wood and C-Patt aren't even comparable. When healthy, Wood is a dominating ace (yes I know he hasn't been since Baker burned him out in 2003). When healthy, C-Patt is still just downright awful.

 

And who would you get for C-Patt? A bag of balls? I'd rather try and get him back to some place of value and then trade him, rather than just giving him up for nothing.

 

When healthy, Wood is WHAT? An overpaid 12 game winner? Wow, Hendry better sign him to a long term contract for about $12 million a year because we sure can't lose that kind of talent.

 

Oh that's right..he already did.

 

As far as CPatt, they got what they deserve. They should have adnitted he was a bust and traded him earlier in the year. Now you have nothing.

[CubbieRich]

I'm not talking about pitching and defense. It most certainly isn't the way the Cubs won in '03, and not the way any of the teams you mentioned did it either.

 

So your statement is that the 03' Cubs, mid-90s Yanks, 03' Fish, and 04' Red Sox succesful playoff runs did not rely on or have anything to do with very good pitching and nearly error-free defense. I am sorry, but if that is your point, than I completely disagree.

 

No, I'm not saying that they didn't do any of those things. I specifically mentioned before that quote that I was talking about Guillen's out-wasting antics on offense. Smartball is stupid, and I hate that it's receiving praise for relying on an unreal pitching staff to have success.

 

Let's see..the White Sox are in the Series with a manager that uses the team he's got, makes decisions that are not by the book and told his GM what kind of player he wanted. They have speed at the top of the lineup, they have everyone bunt and sacrifice if asked, they have starting pitchers who don't have 90 pitches by the 4th and they use young players in key roles. He shows emotion in the dugout and cares whether they win or lose.

 

The Cubs can't do smartball with the roster they have now. They don't have the manager to play smartball or the general manager to develop smartball. They have no plan.

 

Is Pete's Cafe still around?

 

I wish the Cubs had some 'smartball' in 2006 and so do you. Listen to many of the yahoos who don't want to trade Wood, CPat or anybody else. They want Dusty, Rothschild and Hendry back no matter what. For what? Another year of frustration.

 

None of those things(sans Dusty, who I want fired) have anything to do with "Smartball". I certainly do not wish that the Cubs lose outs and possibly games because an overbearing manager thinks that he has to make things happen by bunting and stealing bases at a manic and wasteful pace.

[USSoccer]

I wish the Cubs had some 'smartball' in 2006 and so do you. Listen to many of the yahoos who don't want to trade Wood, CPat or anybody else.

 

I don't want them to trade Wood. I guess that makes me a yahoo huh?

 

And Wood and C-Patt aren't even comparable. When healthy, Wood is a dominating ace (yes I know he hasn't been since Baker burned him out in 2003). When healthy, C-Patt is still just downright awful.

 

And who would you get for C-Patt? A bag of balls? I'd rather try and get him back to some place of value and then trade him, rather than just giving him up for nothing.

 

When healthy, Wood is WHAT? An overpaid 12 game winner? Wow, Hendry better sign him to a long term contract for about $12 million a year because we sure can't lose that kind of talent.

 

Oh that's right..he already did.

 

As far as CPatt, they got what they deserve. They should have adnitted he was a bust and traded him earlier in the year. Now you have nothing.

 

Wow. Did WSCR give you your talking points? Is this one of the Johnny Interns there?

 

For the 1 billionth time, wins and loses are the worst way to evaluate a pitcher. By that standard, Clemens in 2005 and Randy Johnson in 2004 sucked. Wood's 2003 was dominant, even though he won only 14 games. Yes, he gets hurt, and yes, that sucks, but at the time of the extension Wood had pitched in 3 straight seasons with total health.

 

Patterson, yeah, he's done in Chicago. But a small part of the fact he's done has to do with the fact that nearly everyone in the media and fanbase have been on him for the better part of 2 years for mostly stupid reasons. "He can't be coached", "he has an atiitude problem", "he needs to bunt more". Mentally, he's shot. I don't expect him to ever be the star he was hyped to be, but I think, given a change of scenery, he could become Mike Cameron redux. Finally, if you think the Cubs could have gotten anything of value for Corey during the year, you're mad. Position player-even the ones who suck-always have more value in the offseason. This may mean he's sold for pennies on the dollar instead of a fungo bat, but it's still a smarter move.

 

 

Finally, who are these "yahoos" that don't want to trade Wood and Corey? Not many peolpe here will admit to wanting Corey back unless the offense is bolstered to the point where you can bat him 8th and have his defense. Wood has a NTC, so that dampers alot of trade talk with him. Plus, you'd likely have to extend him to get him to waive it. What team will extend him coming off of an injury?

[USSoccer]

And for the record, the "Yahoo's" who are lauding "Smartball" need to realize that the White Sox hit the 4th most HR's in the AL this year-even without Lee and Ordonez-and have advanced in the playoffs thanks to overwhelmingly dominant starting pitching, and timely-*gasp*-HR's from Crede and Konerko. Don't see how that's "smartball".

[XZero771679666304]

I wish the Cubs had some 'smartball' in 2006 and so do you. Listen to many of the yahoos who don't want to trade Wood, CPat or anybody else.

 

I don't want them to trade Wood. I guess that makes me a yahoo huh?

 

And Wood and C-Patt aren't even comparable. When healthy, Wood is a dominating ace (yes I know he hasn't been since Baker burned him out in 2003). When healthy, C-Patt is still just downright awful.

 

And who would you get for C-Patt? A bag of balls? I'd rather try and get him back to some place of value and then trade him, rather than just giving him up for nothing.

 

When healthy, Wood is WHAT? An overpaid 12 game winner? Wow, Hendry better sign him to a long term contract for about $12 million a year because we sure can't lose that kind of talent.

 

Oh that's right..he already did.

 

As far as CPatt, they got what they deserve. They should have adnitted he was a bust and traded him earlier in the year. Now you have nothing.

 

Wow. Did WSCR give you your talking points? Is this one of the Johnny Interns there?

 

For the 1 billionth time, wins and loses are the worst way to evaluate a pitcher. By that standard, Clemens in 2005 and Randy Johnson in 2004 sucked. Wood's 2003 was dominant, even though he won only 14 games. Yes, he gets hurt, and yes, that sucks, but at the time of the extension Wood had pitched in 3 straight seasons with total health.

 

Patterson, yeah, he's done in Chicago. But a small part of the fact he's done has to do with the fact that nearly everyone in the media and fanbase have been on him for the better part of 2 years for mostly stupid reasons. "He can't be coached", "he has an atiitude problem", "he needs to bunt more". Mentally, he's shot. I don't expect him to ever be the star he was hyped to be, but I think, given a change of scenery, he could become Mike Cameron redux. Finally, if you think the Cubs could have gotten anything of value for Corey during the year, you're mad. Position player-even the ones who suck-always have more value in the offseason. This may mean he's sold for pennies on the dollar instead of a fungo bat, but it's still a smarter move.

 

 

Finally, who are these "yahoos" that don't want to trade Wood and Corey? Not many peolpe here will admit to wanting Corey back unless the offense is bolstered to the point where you can bat him 8th and have his defense. Wood has a NTC, so that dampers alot of trade talk with him. Plus, you'd likely have to extend him to get him to waive it. What team will extend him coming off of an injury?

 

Yeah, with a good consistent offense, Wood would have won 20 a couple of times. And as you pointed out, Kerry was coming off 3 consecutive healthy and highly effective seasons.

 

And I too am beyond sick of people pointing to wins first when evaluating pitchers. It is ignorant. I have heard enough "he knows how to win" crap. A pitcher can shut teams down or he can't, but it is his offense that wins the games.

[XZero771679666304]

And for the record, the "Yahoo's" who are lauding "Smartball" need to realize that the White Sox hit the 4th most HR's in the AL this year-even without Lee and Ordonez-and have advanced in the playoffs thanks to overwhelmingly dominant starting pitching, and timely-*gasp*-HR's from Crede and Konerko. Don't see how that's "smartball".

 

It's a hodge-podge offense. I don't see any predominant system there, it's just that the media like to label things. Lot's of bunts + aggressive baserunning = Smallball in their simple minds. People laud Podsednik, but his OBP was middle of the pack as far as leadoff man, and 59/82 is not a good SB/CS ratio. Statistically, Pods really was of little benefit to the team.

 

The team OBP is .323, which is mediocre. They're in the lower half of the pack in runs, AVG, RC, BB/PA, BB/K, SB%, nearly every stst you would associate with a "smallball" team. They were near the top in HR, HR/AB, IsoP, and middle of the pack in SLG.

 

So you have a team that hits a lot of homers but doesn't hit for AVG, doesn't take a lot of walks, steals bases at a low percentage, and doesn't score a lot of runs.

 

That's "smartball"? I don't think so. The White Sox are a team that got by on their pitching and an ad-lib offense that barely won a lot of games.

[CubbieRich]

I wish the Cubs had some 'smartball' in 2006 and so do you. Listen to many of the yahoos who don't want to trade Wood, CPat or anybody else.

 

I don't want them to trade Wood. I guess that makes me a yahoo huh?

 

And Wood and C-Patt aren't even comparable. When healthy, Wood is a dominating ace (yes I know he hasn't been since Baker burned him out in 2003). When healthy, C-Patt is still just downright awful.

 

And who would you get for C-Patt? A bag of balls? I'd rather try and get him back to some place of value and then trade him, rather than just giving him up for nothing.

 

When healthy, Wood is WHAT? An overpaid 12 game winner? Wow, Hendry better sign him to a long term contract for about $12 million a year because we sure can't lose that kind of talent.

 

Oh that's right..he already did.

 

As far as CPatt, they got what they deserve. They should have adnitted he was a bust and traded him earlier in the year. Now you have nothing.

 

Wow. Did WSCR give you your talking points? Is this one of the Johnny Interns there?

 

For the 1 billionth time, wins and loses are the worst way to evaluate a pitcher. By that standard, Clemens in 2005 and Randy Johnson in 2004 sucked. Wood's 2003 was dominant, even though he won only 14 games. Yes, he gets hurt, and yes, that sucks, but at the time of the extension Wood had pitched in 3 straight seasons with total health.

 

Patterson, yeah, he's done in Chicago. But a small part of the fact he's done has to do with the fact that nearly everyone in the media and fanbase have been on him for the better part of 2 years for mostly stupid reasons. "He can't be coached", "he has an atiitude problem", "he needs to bunt more". Mentally, he's shot. I don't expect him to ever be the star he was hyped to be, but I think, given a change of scenery, he could become Mike Cameron redux. Finally, if you think the Cubs could have gotten anything of value for Corey during the year, you're mad. Position player-even the ones who suck-always have more value in the offseason. This may mean he's sold for pennies on the dollar instead of a fungo bat, but it's still a smarter move.

 

 

Finally, who are these "yahoos" that don't want to trade Wood and Corey? Not many peolpe here will admit to wanting Corey back unless the offense is bolstered to the point where you can bat him 8th and have his defense. Wood has a NTC, so that dampers alot of trade talk with him. Plus, you'd likely have to extend him to get him to waive it. What team will extend him coming off of an injury?

 

Wow. A screener allow you on the air, that's your gripe? Stop yourself.

 

Patterson thinks he's a 5'9" slugger. He doesn't want to bunt. He doesn't want to learn the strike zone. He doesn't want to learn how to steal, although you can't steal first anyway. He doesn't want to do anything but swing for the fences. His fielding this year suffered because he took his offensive problems to CF. He was not aggressive and tentative at times.

 

Hendry didn't trade him because he didn't want to admit that he and his over-rated scouting and development system made a mistake. If he had traded Patterson during the year, he would have gotten at least something. Now, exposed for the fraud he is, Patterson will draw considerably less. I wish that CPatt had developed, but he won't ever do it here.

 

If Wood is such a quality pitcher, such a great player then teams should be falling all over themselves to trade for him, when he is healthy. I consider any pitcher who will make $12 million to win more than 14 games, go deep into games and be the unquestioned leader of the pitching staff. Wood is none of these. Blame it on Rothschild, Barrett, Dusty whoever you want to. But Wood hasn't produced, hasn't come close to earning his money and now become a drain on the Cubs. Hendry was foolish to sign him to such a contract and would be wise to get him healthy and put him on the market.

[XZero771679666304]

 

If Wood is such a quality pitcher, such a great player then teams should be falling all over themselves to trade for him, when he is healthy. I consider any pitcher who will make $12 million to win more than 14 games, go deep into games and be the unquestioned leader of the pitching staff. Wood is none of these. Blame it on Rothschild, Barrett, Dusty whoever you want to. But Wood hasn't produced, hasn't come close to earning his money and now become a drain on the Cubs. Hendry was foolish to sign him to such a contract and would be wise to get him healthy and put him on the market.

 

In 2002, Wood pitched 214 innings with 4 CG. In 2003, Wood pitched 211 innings with 4 CG. He was effective, and he went deep into games. He did so with outstanding peripheral stats. He was dominant.

 

And don't talk about wins, the are a feeble indicator. Wood's win totals are more of a commentary on the Cubs offenseive futility than Wood's pitching ability.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Patterson thinks he's a 5'9" slugger. He doesn't want to bunt. He doesn't want to learn the strike zone. He doesn't want to learn how to steal, although you can't steal first anyway. He doesn't want to do anything but swing for the fences. His fielding this year suffered because he took his offensive problems to CF. He was not aggressive and tentative at times.

 

It's comforting to know that you know exactly what Patterson's desires are, nevermind the fact that he's an excellent basestealer and a pretty good bunter as well.

[CubbieRich]

It's comforting to know that you know exactly what Patterson's desires are, nevermind the fact that he's an excellent basestealer and a pretty good bunter as well.

 

The proof is in the stats and not pipedreams. He is a lousy bunter and a very mediocre base stealer. Whether he was never taught or doesn't want to learn, does it really matter. He's gone and someone else will be in CF.

 

Wins for a starting pitcher is the primary way to judge the effectiveness of a starter. Anyone who tries to say different or use 'quality starts' is denying the recognized standard for starting pitching. But then some yahoos are satisfied with 14 wins at $12 million.

[USSoccer]

Wow. A screener allow you on the air, that's your gripe? Stop yourself.

 

Patterson thinks he's a 5'9" slugger. He doesn't want to bunt. He doesn't want to learn the strike zone. He doesn't want to learn how to steal, although you can't steal first anyway. He doesn't want to do anything but swing for the fences. His fielding this year suffered because he took his offensive problems to CF. He was not aggressive and tentative at times.

 

Hendry didn't trade him because he didn't want to admit that he and his over-rated scouting and development system made a mistake. If he had traded Patterson during the year, he would have gotten at least something. Now, exposed for the fraud he is, Patterson will draw considerably less. I wish that CPatt had developed, but he won't ever do it here.

 

If Wood is such a quality pitcher, such a great player then teams should be falling all over themselves to trade for him, when he is healthy. I consider any pitcher who will make $12 million to win more than 14 games, go deep into games and be the unquestioned leader of the pitching staff. Wood is none of these. Blame it on Rothschild, Barrett, Dusty whoever you want to. But Wood hasn't produced, hasn't come close to earning his money and now become a drain on the Cubs. Hendry was foolish to sign him to such a contract and would be wise to get him healthy and put him on the market.

 

Okay, I have no idea what the first part of your post means. So moving onto the rest of it...

 

Patterson's height and speed don't preclude him from being a power hitter. There are plently of power guys shorter than 6 feet, so that's a baseless criticism. Next, how exactly do you "know" Patterson doesn't "want" do do the things you said he doesn't? Are you a beat reporter? Do you have some sort of magical insight as to the inner desires of Corey Patterson? If not, then it's more baseless criticism made by people who project what they want to be there onto the personality of an athlete.

 

Next, Wood, again, was healthy from 2001-2003. Thus, it wasn't a "stupid" signign. Now, you can debate whether or not it was wise to give him a NTC, but the dollars were equal to his market value at the time he was extended.

 

I'm not going to defend Corey Patterson's on field performance in 2005. He sucked. I'm also not going to say Wood's 2004-5 injuries haven't ticked me off, because they have, but this kind of hyperbole filled, ad hominem arguments slamming both of them and using supposed personality faults to back up said claims is worth nothing. It's silly bluster. You don't like either player? Cool, but if you're going to slam them in a public forum, use a better argument.